Shloka 2
Bhārata-varṣa-varṇana
Description of Bhārata: Mountains, Rivers, and Janapadas
अनागतमत्तिक्रान्तं वर्तमानं च संजय । आचक्ष्व मे विस्तरेण हरिवर्ष तथैव च,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--संजय! तुम भारतवर्ष और हैमवतवर्षके लोगोंके आयुका प्रमाण, बल तथा भूत, भविष्य एवं वर्तमान शुभाशुभ फल बताओ। साथ ही हरिवर्षका भी विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन करो
anāgatam atikrāntaṁ vartamānaṁ ca sañjaya | ācakṣva me vistareṇa harivarṣaṁ tathaiva ca ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Sañjaya, schildere mir ausführlich, was noch kommen wird, was vergangen ist und was jetzt gegenwärtig ist; und gib ebenso einen vollständigen Bericht über Harivarṣa.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a ruler’s responsibility to seek clear knowledge—about consequences across time (past, present, future) and about the wider world—before forming judgments. It frames ethical governance as grounded in informed inquiry rather than impulse.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Sañjaya and requests a detailed account: events in temporal sequence (future, past, present) and an expanded description of Harivarṣa, signaling a shift toward broader, descriptive narration.